Demolition of 10th Avenue armory begins

Demolition work has started on the National Guard Armory on 10th Avenue in Tuscaloosa.

Dusty Compton | Tuscaloosa News

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Monday, February 4, 2013 at 1:25 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 4, 2013 at 1:25 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Demolition has begun on the former armory on 10th Avenue, beginning the process of converting the area into a new park and green space for West Tuscaloosa residents.

The work is taking place directly across the street from the infrastructure work on Rosedale Court's Phase II, a $13 million development that will consist of 86 housing units under the operation of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.

Phase II construction is taking place in the shadow of Rosedale's Phase I, for which a ribbon cutting ceremony was held last month on the $18.5 million complex with 88 affordable living units.

The decision to convert the former Armed Forces Reserve Center to a public park area for these and other residents was endorsed in December by the City Council's Public Projects Committee after a University of Alabama plan to use the facility fell apart.

A final decision to use the space as a park has yet to be made by the City Council, but the demolition and site clearing work — expected to take approximately a month, city officials said — indicates that this approval is imminent.

The university intended to use the building to house UA's fleet of school-owned vehicles, garage services and its environmental health department.

But a requirement under the facility take-over plan with the U.S. Department of Defense, which managed the armory, required the university to use the existing buildings and did not allow for demolition.

At first, it appeared the damage to the building caused by the tornado of April 27, 2011 — the roof was damaged and windows blew out — did not cause enough structural damage to warrant significant renovations.

That initial assessment, however, proved incorrect, and UA declined to proceed with its plans for the site, despite earning permission from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to do so.

The university's decision to abandon the site led to City Hall's ability to take it over.

The city's involvement in the future of the site began in 2006, when the Department of Defense decided to close the reserve center and open a new one in Tuscaloosa. This happened in July 2011, when a new $13 million reserve center opened on a 16-acre site off Alabama Highway 69 South.

But part of the military's decision to close the old facility included the federal government offering City Hall a role in determining how the remaining facility would be use.

The City Council signed off on UA's plans for the site, just as it did in April 2009, when the Tuscaloosa County Parking and Transit Authority and the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority announced plans to share the property. Had this plan been approved, the Housing Authority would have used the main building and connected parking for a social services center for homeless families, and the Transit Authority would use the depot and maintenance area for its bus maintenance facility.

But two months later, this proposal fell apart when the Housing Authority announced that it lacked the money to proceed with its plans.

Now, work to convert the area into a park has begun in line with the recommendation of the Tuscaloosa Redevelopment Authority. This plan was formed in accordance with Department of Defense regulations, which require that the property be conveyed for a use that will provide a public benefit, to consider various proposals for the center.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Demolition has begun on the former armory on 10th Avenue, beginning the process of converting the area into a new park and green space for West Tuscaloosa residents.</p><p>The work is taking place directly across the street from the infrastructure work on Rosedale Court's Phase II, a $13 million development that will consist of 86 housing units under the operation of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.</p><p>Phase II construction is taking place in the shadow of Rosedale's Phase I, for which a ribbon cutting ceremony was held last month on the $18.5 million complex with 88 affordable living units.</p><p>The decision to convert the former Armed Forces Reserve Center to a public park area for these and other residents was endorsed in December by the City Council's Public Projects Committee after a University of Alabama plan to use the facility fell apart.</p><p>A final decision to use the space as a park has yet to be made by the City Council, but the demolition and site clearing work — expected to take approximately a month, city officials said — indicates that this approval is imminent.</p><p>The university intended to use the building to house UA's fleet of school-owned vehicles, garage services and its environmental health department.</p><p>But a requirement under the facility take-over plan with the U.S. Department of Defense, which managed the armory, required the university to use the existing buildings and did not allow for demolition.</p><p>At first, it appeared the damage to the building caused by the tornado of April 27, 2011 — the roof was damaged and windows blew out — did not cause enough structural damage to warrant significant renovations.</p><p>That initial assessment, however, proved incorrect, and UA declined to proceed with its plans for the site, despite earning permission from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to do so.</p><p>The university's decision to abandon the site led to City Hall's ability to take it over.</p><p>The city's involvement in the future of the site began in 2006, when the Department of Defense decided to close the reserve center and open a new one in Tuscaloosa. This happened in July 2011, when a new $13 million reserve center opened on a 16-acre site off Alabama Highway 69 South.</p><p>But part of the military's decision to close the old facility included the federal government offering City Hall a role in determining how the remaining facility would be use.</p><p>The City Council signed off on UA's plans for the site, just as it did in April 2009, when the Tuscaloosa County Parking and Transit Authority and the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority announced plans to share the property. Had this plan been approved, the Housing Authority would have used the main building and connected parking for a social services center for homeless families, and the Transit Authority would use the depot and maintenance area for its bus maintenance facility.</p><p>But two months later, this proposal fell apart when the Housing Authority announced that it lacked the money to proceed with its plans.</p><p>Now, work to convert the area into a park has begun in line with the recommendation of the Tuscaloosa Redevelopment Authority. This plan was formed in accordance with Department of Defense regulations, which require that the property be conveyed for a use that will provide a public benefit, to consider various proposals for the center.</p><p>Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.</p>